Emelia says: “Something you may not realise when it comes to cookies is that literally anything can be baked into cookie form. Take these apple pie cookies: we start with a base not too dissimilar from my chocolate-chip cookie recipe and turn it on its head. Finely diced fresh green apples add tartness and freshness, and we pay homage to the original (and flawless) dessert that is apple pie, by baking a cinnamon crumble on top. Warm spices and soft, tart apple pieces encased in a crisp (but soft in the centre) cookie. Perfection.”

Makes 18

Ingredients

• 250g (9oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 150g (5½oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 130g (4½oz) brown sugar
• 120g (4¼oz) caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 2 green apples, peeled and cut into 2 mm dice

Crumble topping:

• 60g (2¼oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 100g (3½oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 50g (1¾oz) caster (superfine) sugar

Sugar drizzle:

• 100g (3½oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
• 1–2 tablespoons milk or cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone baking mats.

Combine the flour, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Give these ingredients a good whisk and set aside.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, caster sugar, egg and vanilla for 1–2 minutes or until just combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined before adding the apple pieces.

Give a final mix to incorporate the apple into the dough.

For the crumble topping, combine the butter, flour and caster sugar in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until a sandy mixture forms.

Roll the dough into balls, using 50g (1¾ oz) dough for each one, and place them on the baking trays, leaving plenty of room for spreading. Top each ball with a tablespoon of the crumble topping mixture.

Bake the cookies for 17–18 minutes or until they are golden brown around the edges but still pale towards the centre. (To get your cookies perfectly round, see my tips on page 12 of the book.)

For the sugar drizzle, put the icing sugar in a bowl and mix in the milk or cream until the mixture has the consistency of thickened (whipping) cream. Dip a fork into the drizzle and run it quickly back and forth over the cookies. Let the drizzle set for 1–2 hours at room temperature (or just dive in now – there are no rules!).

Emelia says: “The base of this cookie is not too different to a snickerdoodle, which, to be honest, is not an amazing cookie. The best way I can describe a snickerdoodle is that it’s a chocolate chip-less cookie, rolled in sugar (for crunch). I’ve pimped these up, with coffee in the base and a creamy mascarpone topping to rival the best tiramisu.”

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 120g (4¼oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 200g (7oz) brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 210g (7½oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Coffee sugar:

• 100g (3½oz) caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 heaped tablespoon instant coffee powder

Mascarpone swirl

• 300g (10½oz) mascarpone
• 140g (5oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• Dark cocoa powder, for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone baking mats.

Mix the coffee powder with the warm water and stir until the coffee has dissolved.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter, brown sugar and eggs on medium speed until lightened in colour – you don’t want aeration here, just a nice cohesive mass. Add the coffee and vanilla and mix until well combined, then mix in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and salt.

Make the coffee sugar by mixing the caster sugar with the coffee powder in a small bowl.

Roll the dough into balls, using 30 g (1oz) dough for each one, then roll each ball in the coffee sugar. Place the balls on the baking trays, leaving plenty of room for spreading.

Bake the cookies for 10–12 minutes or until golden brown and delicious. Allow them to cool completely on the trays.

For the mascarpone swirl, mix the mascarpone, icing sugar and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer the mascarpone to a piping bag fitted with a 5mm (¼ inch) round nozzle.

To assemble, pipe the marscapone on top of the cookies in a spiral and smooth it into a swirl with the back of a spoon before dusting with cocoa powder. These cookies are best enjoyed the same day they’re made.

Makes 14

Ingredients

• 120g (4¼oz) dates, finely chopped
• 100ml (3½ fl oz) boiling water
• 1½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 125g (4½oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 170g (5¾oz) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 250g (9oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 50ml (1¾ fl oz) milk

Golden syrup buttercream:

• 100g (3½oz) unsalted butter, softened
• 75g (2½oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
• 150g (5½oz) golden syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• ½ teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking paper or silicone baking mats.

Combine the dates, boiling water and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to allow the dates to soften.

If they don’t soften enough, you can pop them in the microwave for 30–60 seconds. Using a stick blender, blitz the date mixture until smooth (or mash with the back of a fork) and allow to cool.

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, around 3–4. minutes. Add the egg and the cooled date purée and mix to combine, then add the flour and milk and mix until the batter is smooth.

Using a medium-sized cookie scoop, scoop uniform balls of the batter onto the baking trays, leaving room for the cookies to spread and rise. Flatten the cookies slightly before baking.

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes or until brown around the edges. Halfway through the baking time, use a round cutter to shape the cookies into perfect rounds and then return them to the oven. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the trays.

For the buttercream, combine the butter, icing sugar and golden syrup in the bowl of the electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, then mix in the vanilla and salt.

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle. Pipe a generous tablespoon of the buttercream onto the centre of half the cookies before sandwiching with the remaining cookies.